Inherently secured aerogel composites

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention describe secured fiber-reinforced aerogels and laminate structures formed therefrom. In one embodiment a laminate comprises at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer adjacent to at least one layer of fiber containing material wherein fibers from said at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced with fibers of said at least one fiber-containing material. In another embodiment a laminate comprises at least two adjacent fiber-reinforced aerogel layers wherein fibers from at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced with fibers of an adjacent fiber-reinforced aerogel layer.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of priority from the followingapplications: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/685,240 filed Jan. 11,2010 which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/457,504 filed Jul. 14, 2006, which claims the benefit of priorityfrom U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/699,840 filed on Jul.15, 2006; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety as if fully set forth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention describe secured fiber-reinforcedaerogels and laminate structures formed therefrom. In one embodiment alaminate comprises at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer adjacentto at least one layer of fiber-containing material wherein fibers fromsaid at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced withfibers of said at least one fiber-containing material. The layer offiber-containing material can comprise a fiber-reinforced foam compositeor fiber-reinforced polymeric composite. Alternatively, or in additionto, the layer of fiber-containing material can comprise a felt, batting,lofty batting, mat, woven fabric, non-woven fabric or a combinationthereof, The aerogel layer can comprise a felt, batting, lofty batting,mat, woven fabric, non-woven fabricor a combination thereof. In someembodiments a functional layer that is radiation absorbing, radiationreflecting, thermally conductive or electrically conductive is used. Inanother embodiment, a laminate comprises at least two adjacentfiber-reinforced aerogel layers wherein fibers from at least onefiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced with fibers of an adjacentfiber-reinforced aerogel layer. Again the fiber-reinforced aerogel layercan comprise a felt, batting, lofty batting, mat, woven fabric,non-woven fabric or a combination thereof. Also again this laminate cancomprise a functional layer that is radiation absorbing, radiationreflecting, thermally conductive or electrically conductive. One methodof practicing an embodiment of the present invention includes the stepsof:

a) disposing a laminate comprising at least one layer of afiber-containing material adjacent to at least one fiber-reinforcedaerogel layer beneath at least one felting needle and where at least onelayer being a top layer that defines an exposed surface; and

b) penetrating said laminate through said exposed surface with said atleast one felting needle thereby transporting fibers within thelaminate.

Another method comprises the steps of:

a) disposing a laminate comprising at least two layers of adjacent fiberreinforced aerogels beneath at least one felting needle and where atleast one layer being a top layer that defines an exposed surface; andb) penetrating said laminate through said exposed surface with said atleast one felting needle thereby transporting fibers within thelaminate.

DESCRIPTION

Manipulation of aerogels, one of the best known insulators, can be verychallenging given the fragility of this material form. The developmentof fiber-reinforced aerogels has yielded a more adaptable aerogelcomposite form with improved mechanical properties such asconformability and flexibility without any substantial loss of thermalinsulation performance. However, few methodologies have yet beendeveloped for securing or attaching these fiber reinforced forms.Moreover, securing mechanisms that do not involve an extrinsic componentsuch as stitches, tags, rivets, adhesives, staples, tapes, and the likehave remained virtually unexplored. Extrinsic components are undesirableconsidering that they can: add weight, fail under the adverse conditions(high thermal loads, cryogenic temperatures, etc.) and can increaseproduction cost. For instance, most adhesives do not perform well andultimately fail at cryogenic temperatures such as those encountered byinsulation systems in liquid natural gas (LNG) pipelines. At highoperating temperatures, many adhesives tend to burn off, plastic tagscan melt and stitchings may fail. Such tendencies are likely to beexperienced by aerogel based fireproofing systems, or other hightemperature applications such as the hot sections of aircraft enginesand solid rocket motors.

To date, typical mechanical tacking methods for fiber reinforcedaerogels require the introduction of an extrinsic component, such as ametal rivet or a fiber stitch. As is the case with chemical systems, theintroduction of a foreign material to the insulation system is likely tolimit the acceptable operating conditions of the system. In the case ofa weight sensitive product, such as insulation or fireproofing systemsfor marine or space vehicles, the weight pick-up gained by adding metalrivets or tags is undesirable. For this and various other reasons it isclear that a need for securing methods which do not utilize extrinsiccomponents still persists for fiber-reinforced aerogels.

Embodiments of the present invention describe methods for securingfiber-reinforced-aerogels and products derived therefrom. In particular,current embodiments exploit the benefits of needle-punching technologyfor manipulating fiber reinforced aerogels. For instance a plurality oflayers comprising aerogels reinforced with a batting or felt can betacked together using the needle punching process. Also, acrogelblankets along with other fibrous layers can be secured accordingly.This system minimizes added weight, eliminates need for fallibleexternal components and without compromising thermal insulatingperformance.

One aspect of the present invention involves methods for securingfiber-reinforced aerogels to: fiber-containing materials,fiber-reinforced aerogels, or both. This can be accomplished by via“needle-punching” technique; also sometimes known as “needling.” Anotheraspect relates to laminates or multiple layered structures comprising atleast one layer of fiber-reinforced aerogel secured to afiber-containing material, a fiber-reinforced aerogel or both.“Fiber-containing material” as used herein denotes any material withfibers conducive to needle-punching. In other words fibers in thefiber-containing material can intermix, interpenetrate, intertwined,interlaced, interwoven or entangle with fibers of another material as aresult of needle-punching. When the word “interlaced” is used, it ismeant to encompass one or more or all of the preceding verbs toillustrate how fibers are in the embodiments of the invention.Fiber-containing materials may be exemplified by, but not limited tofibrous structures, fiber-reinforced foam composites or fiber-reinforcedpolymeric composites. Fibrous structures are further exemplified by, butnot limited to: felts, battings, lofty battings, mats, woven fabrics,non-woven fabrics or combinations thereof. Suitable fiber compositionsinclude essentially all natural and synthetic fibers which may be basedon organic, inorganic or both compounds. Examples of natural fibersinclude, but are not limited to: wool, cotton, silk, linen, hemp, ramie,and jute. Examples of synthetic fibers include, but are not limited to:acetate, acrylic, latex, nylon, polyester, rayon, spandex.

Other fibers may be based on fiberglass, quartz, polyethylene,polypropylene, polybenzimidazole (PBI), polyphenylenebenzo-bisoxasole(PBO), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyarylate, polyacrylates,polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), poly-metaphenylene diamide,poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, ultra high molecular weightpolyethylene (UHMWPE), novoloid resins, polyacryolintrile (PAN),polyacrylonitrile-carbon and carbon fibers.

Needle-punching is a known technique for attaching or orientingnon-woven fiber-containing materials into stable, usable forms.Needle-punched non-wovens are prepared via mechanical orientation andinterlocking of fibers such as those in a spun bonded or carded webform. For instance, effective mechanical interlocking between layers isachieved via a plurality of barbed felting needles passing into and outof the fiber mass (at varying locations) where the barbs on the needlescarry fibers from one ply through to another. The displaced fibersgenerated by the needling process are often referred to as “Z-fibers”since they are generally perpendicular to the plane of the fibrouslayer. Examples of needle-punched final products are: tennis courtsurfaces, space shuttle tiles, boat hull composites, automotivecarpeting, automotive insulation, filtration media, geo textiles, vinylsubstrates, primary carpet backing, secondary carpet backing, fiberglassmatting, ballistic felts, tennis ball felts, aerospace brake pads, oilabsorbents, and many others.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary needle-punching process. Here, the laminate 4(containing fiber reinforced aerogel+fiber containing material or two ormore fiber reinforced aerogels) is fed into a needle-loom 6 via feedrolls 2. A bed of needles 12 secured to a beam board 8 is cyclicallydriven using a main drive 10 to penetrate the layers in consecutivesections resulting in the needle-punched products 14 which aresubsequently wound using draw off rolls 16. In the context of certainembodiments of the present invention, said layers 4 comprise a layer offiber-reinforced aerogel and: at least one layer of a fiber-containingmaterial, at least one layer of another fiber reinforced aerogel, orboth. Other forms of needle punching that are applicable to embodimentsof the present invention involve needle punching via a structuring loomor random velour loom. Furthermore needle-punching can be carried outdiscontinuously for example where distinct sections are needle-punchedin one shot. Various other modifications can be used for the needlepunching process depending on the fabrication needs. For instance, aneedle punching device enabling measurement of penetration depth isdescribed in WO02070807A 1 hereby incorporated by reference. Hence itshould be recognized that the needle-punching concept as a whole isembraced by the embodiments presented herein.

As noted earlier, aerogels describe material forms with typicallyexcellent thermal insulation, among other properties. As used herein,“aerogel” and “aerogel materials” refer to gel containing air as adispersion medium in a broad sense and gels dried via supercriticalfluids in a narrow sense. The chemical composition of aerogels can beinorganic, organic (including polymers) or hybrid organic-inorganic.Inorganic aerogels may be based on Silica, Titania, Zirconia, Alumina,Hathia, Yttria, Ceria, Carbides and Nitrides. Organic aerogels can bebased on compounds including but are not limited to:

urethanes, resorcinol formaldehydes, polyimide, polyacrylates, chitosan,polymethylmethacrylate, members of the acrylate family of oligomers,trialkoxysilyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane, polyoxyalkylene,polyurethane, polybutadiane, melamine-formaldehyde, phenol-furfural, amember of the polyether family of materials or combinations thereof.Examples of organic-inorganic hybrid aerogels include, but are notlimited to: silica-PMMA, silica-chitosan, silica-polyether or possibly acombination of the aforementioned organic and inorganic compounds.Published US patent applications 2005/0192367 and 2005/0192366 teachextensively of such hybrid organic-inorganic materials and are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety. In the preferredembodiments of the present invention, silica aerogels are discussedwhereas the invention as a whole may be practiced with other aerogelcompositions as well. The preferred method of preparing aerogels in thecurrent embodiments is via drying of gels derived the sol-gel process.Said process is described in great detail in Brinker C. J., and SchererG. W., Sol-Gel Science; New York: Academic Press, 1990 which is herebyincorporated by reference.

Gels may be additionally aged prior to drying to further strengthen thenetwork structure thereof by increasing the number of cross-linkages.This procedure is potentially useful for preventing potential volumeloss during drying. Aging can involve: maintaining the gel (prior todrying) at a quiescent state for an extended period, maintaining the gelat elevated temperatures, addition of cross-linkage promoting compoundsor any combination thereof. Aging time period typically requires betweenabout 1 hr and several days. The preferred temperatures are usuallybetween about 10.degree. C. and about 100.degree. C.

For optimal thermal insulation, aerogels can be opacified to reduce theradiative component of heat transfer. At any point prior to gelformation, opacifying compounds, radiation absorbing compounds,radiation reflecting compounds, thermally conductive components,electrically conductive components, radar blocking components may bedispersed into the mixture comprising gel precursors. Examples ofopacifying compounds include and are not limited to: B.sub.4C,Diatomite, Manganese ferrite, MnO, NiO, SnO, Ag.sub.2O, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3,TiC, WC, carbon black, titanium oxide, iron titanium oxide, zirconiumsilicate, zirconium oxide, iron (I) oxide, iron (III) oxide, manganesedioxide, iron titanium oxide (ilmenite), chromium oxide, silicon carbideor mixtures thereof.

Aerogels may be surface treated to impart or improve hydrophobicity. Thehydrophobic treatment is carried out by reacting a hydroxy moiety of asilanol group present on a surface of the wet-gel compound (silica gel)with a functional group of a hydrophobing agent thereby converting thesilanol group into a hydrophobic group of the hydrophobicity-impartingagent. For example, the hydrophobing treatment can be carried out byimmersing a gel in a hydrophobicity-imparting solution of a hydrophobingagent in a solvent, and mixing the gel and the solution to allow thehydrophobicity-imparting agent to permeate the gel, while if necessary,heating such a gel mixture so that a hydrophobicity-imparting reactionoccurs. Examples of the solvent for use in the hydrophobing treatmentinclude methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, xylene, toluene, benzene,N,N-dimethylformamide, hexamethyldisiloxane and the like. There is noparticular limit in selection of the solvent, in so far as the solventcan easily dissolve the hydrophobing agent and can replace the solventcontained in the gel before the hydrophobing treatment. Where thesupercritical drying is carried out after the hydrophobing treatment,the solvent to be used in the hydrophobing treatment is preferably amedium that facilitates the supercritical drying (e.g., methanol,ethanol, isopropanol, liquefied carbon dioxide or the like), or a mediumwhich can be replaced with the former medium. Examples of thehydrophobing agent include hexamethyldisilazane, hexamethyldisiloxane,trimethylmethoxysilane, dimethyldimethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxysilane,ethyltrimethoxysilane, trimethylethoxysilane, dimethyldiethoxysilane,methyltriethoxysilane and the like. Hydrophobing treatments are furtherdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,142 hereby incorporated by reference.

Drying plays an important role in engineering the properties ofaerogels, such as porosity and density which influence the materialthermal conductivity. To date, numerous drying methods have beenexplored. U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,402 teaches drying via rapid solventexchange of solvent(s) inside wet gels using supercritical CO.sub.2 byinjecting supercritical, rather than liquid, CO.sub.2 into an extractorthat has been pre-heated and pre-pressurized to substantiallysupercritical conditions or above to produce aerogels. U.S. Pat. No.5,962,539 describes a process for obtaining an aerogel from a polymericmaterial that is in the form a sol-gel in an organic solvent, byexchanging the organic solvent for a fluid having a critical temperaturebelow a temperature of polymer decomposition, and supercritically dryingthe fluid/sol-gel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,971 discloses processes forproducing gel compositions comprising: drying a wet gel comprising gelsolids and a drying agent to remove the drying agent under dryingconditions sufficient to minimize shrinkage of the gel during drying.Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,168 describes a process wherebyResorcinol/Formaldehyde aerogels can be manufactured using a simple airdrying procedure. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,142 herein incorporatedby reference describes subcritical drying techniques. The embodiments ofthe present invention can be practiced with drying using any of theabove techniques. In some embodiments, it is preferred that the dryingis performed at vacuum to below super-critical pressures (pressuresbelow the critical pressure of the fluid present in the gel at somepoint) and optionally using surface modifying agents.

Aerogels may be fiber-reinforced with various fibrous structures toachieve a more conformable composite product. Suitable fibrousstructures include, but are not limited to wovens, non-wovens, mats,felts, battings, lofty battings and combinations thereof. Aerogelcomposites reinforced with a fibrous batting, herein referred to as“blankets”, are particularly useful for applications requiringflexibility since they are highly conformable and are excellent thermalinsulators. Aerogel blankets and similar fiber-reinforced aerogelcomposites are described in published US patent application2002/0094426A1 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,068,882; 5,789,075; 5,306,555;6,887,563 and 6,080,475 all hereby incorporated by reference, in theirentirety. Fiber reinforced aerogels of 2002/0094426 are particularlyuseful in the embodiments herein where a continuous aerogel matrix or a“monolithic” aerogel matrix is reinforced by a fiber component like afibrous batting. It is noted here that an aerogel blanket is a flexibleaerogel composite that can be used like a blanket to cover surfaces ofsimple or complex geometry.

Applications involving aerogel blankets can benefit tremendously fromthe needle punching technique. This novel method for manipulatingaerogel blankets can be used in a variety of applications involvingattachment of the blankets to any other fibrous materials and/orcreating a coherent lay up of insulating plies. Although the aerogelmatrix might be locally disrupted upon needle penetration, the integrityof the needled end-product is usually not compromised. In order tooptimize needle punching of fiber-reinforced aerogel composites thefollowing factors are worth considering: needle puncture density, needlepenetration depth, needle characteristics (crank, shank, blade, barb,point, etc.), aerogel density, aerogel material (Organic, inorganic,hybrid organic-inorganic), fiber/aerogel volume ratio, fiber forms(batting, felt, mat, chopped fibers) and fiber compositions (polyester,carbon, silica, etc.) Needles with the desired attributes such as crank,shank, blade, barb, point properties, aspect ratio or modulus can beobtained from a variety of vendors such as Foster Needle inc. Examplesof companies that currently engage in manufacture of needle-punchedproducts include Shoo Shyng Machinery co., Ltd. and American Felt andFilter Company (AFFCO.) Insulation systems often require several inchesin thickness in order to achieve the overall required R-value(R=resistance to heat flow.) Larger overall R values are achieved bystacking multiple plies of an insulating material, since R values ofindividual plies simply add up. Though not wishing to be bound bytheory, temporal considerations related to the kinetics of sol-gelchemistry of gel preparation (and subsequent drying), suggests that anupper limit on fiber-reinforced aerogel thickness often exists (forexample ½″) when manufactured in a cost-effective manner. As such,requirements for certain insulation applications involvingfiber-reinforced aerogels must be met by constructing a laminate (i.e.multiple ply) comprising secured insulation layers.

In one embodiment a laminate comprises at least one fiber-reinforcedaerogel layer adjacent to at least one layer of fiber-containingmaterial wherein fibers from said at least one fiber-reinforced aerogellayer are interlaced with fibers of said at least one fiber-containingmaterial. The layer(s) of fiber-containing material can comprise a felt,batting, lofty batting, mat, woven fabric, non-woven fabric orcombinations thereof. Alternatively or in addition to, the layer(s) offiber-containing material can comprise a fiber-reinforced foam compositeor fiber-reinforced polymeric composite. The layers can beneedle-punched once to form the final laminate. Alternatively,successive layers can be individually needle punched each time to add tothe stack. Potential applications include instances where an aerogelblanket can is needled to a carpet as a backing, to an apparel articleas lining, or to a fibrous surface as a thermal shield.

In another embodiment a laminate comprises at least two adjacentfiber-reinforced aerogel layers wherein fibers from at least onefiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced with fibers of an adjacentfiber-reinforced aerogel layer. The layers can be needle-punched once toform the final laminate. Alternatively, successive layers can beindividually needle punched each time to add to the stack.

In yet another embodiment, a laminate comprises at least two layers offiber-reinforced aerogels and a fiber-containing material there between.Preferably the fiber containing material is selected from felt, batting,lofty batting, mat, woven fabric, non-woven fabric or combinationsthereof. This arrangement may be particularly useful for instances wherefiber-reinforced aerogels do not secure well to one another afterneedling wherein the in between layer serves to better secure the layersto one another.

In a special embodiment, at least one functional layer is incorporatedinto the laminate structure comprising fiber-reinforced aerogels vianeedle punching. The functional layer may be radiation absorbing,radiation reflecting, thermally conductive or electrically conductive.Metallic sheets, metallized polymeric sheets and the like are few nonlimiting examples. Of course it is desirable that the functional layerbe compliant with needle punching such that this process is nothindered.

In yet another embodiment, the thermal conductivity of the fiberinterlaced laminate is substantially same as that of the fiberreinforced aerogel component. In other words, any mechanical damagecaused by needling process was surprisingly negligible and henceinterlacing using different embodiments of the present invention proveto be very useful for securing fiber reinforced aerogel to a fibercontaining material or for securing more than one layers of fiberreinforced aerogel layers.

In another special embodiment, a laminate is formed from angularneedling of the layers. In other words, at least one layer of fiberreinforced aerogel is needled at an angle non-perpendicular to the planeof said layer. More specifically, the laminate is needled at least twiceat different angles preferably creating cross-entanglement of the drawnfibers.

In another embodiment, a blanket is needled to a fibrous structurewherein said fibrous structure is subsequently permeated with apolymeric material and which is cured therein. The result is a polymericcoating on a fiber reinforced aerogel. Said coating can be highly usefulfor instance, as an abrasion or chemical resistant layer for theaerogel. Additionally, the fiber reinforced aerogel can be molded to ashape and held in place with a hard coating. The following is oneexemplary mode:

a) Fiber reinforced aerogel needled to a fibrous structure such as felt,batting, lofty batting, mat, woven fabric, non-woven fabric orcombinations thereof, thereby forming a laminate structure;

b) The laminate structure is bent or otherwise manipulated to a desiredshape, and held in place;

and c) A polymeric material is transferred into the fibrous structureand cured therein.

Various shapes might be achievable with this structure Such ashalf-pipes, hemispheres, and various others. Thus preformed shapedaerogel insulations are made possible via this method.

In another special embodiment, fiber reinforced wet gels are needledprior to drying to form a laminate structure. A “wet gel” may beunderstood as the un-dried gel comprising solvent and/or diluent filledpores. The laminates prepared accordingly are subsequently dried viatechniques previously discussed. Methods for producing such gel sheetsis described in published US patent application 2005/0167891A1 which isincorporated by reference in its entirety. An advantage in needling wetgels is that less damage to the overall aerogel matrix is sustainedrelative to needling after the aerogel is dried. Furthermore, needlingthe fiber-reinforced wet-gel to of fibrous layer, for instance a lowdensity lofty batting, can serve as a spacing layer, for enhancing flowof the drying medium (e.g. supercritical fluid) once a wet aerogelblanket is rolled and transferred to the drying, preferably in asupercritical fluid drying.

The individual layers of the laminate can be of any thickness but in apreferred embodiment, it is between about 1/16 in and about ½ in. Thefinal product will have an R value that is the sum or better than thesum of each individual aerogel blanket R value thereby providing similaror improved thermal performance relative to a single blanket layer ofthe same thickness. This procedure can be repeated to add layers to analready needle punched stack.

In yet another embodiment, external fibers or yarns are introduced usingneedles through the layers of the laminate such that the layers of theaerogel laminate are quilted together.

There are various art recognized quilting techniques that can be used.The variables such as quilting patterns, needle size (length andthickness), external (external to the layers of the laminate) fiber typeand thickness and frequency and movement of the laminates through thequilting machine may be adjusted to provide the end result such that theaerogel thermal performance is not substantially changed from unquiltedlaminates of similar thickness and type. Several types of yarns may beused for quilting or stitch bonding as described below includingpolyester, carbon, polyacrylonitrile, silica, glass, cotton, rayon,acrylics, Kevlar type material, and Nomex type material.

In yet another embodiment, techniques such as stitch bonding can also beused to accomplish the same purpose of joining more than one layer inthe laminate. Standard lock and chain stitches may be used or modifiedlock stitch in which knots linking needle and bobbin threads are formedat one surface of the laminate to minimize in plane fiber distortion.Further information on Stitch bonding is described in Potluri, P. etal., Composite Structures, 59, 251-259 (2003) which is incorporated inits entirety here. It is important to point out that though aerogel typematerials are fragile, it was surprisingly found that quilting or stitchbonding does not damage the aerogel composite material enough to have asubstantial impact on the thermal performance of the quilted or stitchbonded laminates. This surprising result leads to very simple way ofattaching layers of aerogel composites or fiber reinforced aerogelcomposites without any complex steps.

The needle punching art as a whole is integral to embodiments of thepresent invention whereby needled products comprising fiber-reinforcedaerogels are prepared. The following includes a few non-limiting modesfor practicing certain specific embodiments of the present invention,where one comprises the steps of:

a) disposing a laminate comprising at least one layer of afiber-containing material adjacent to at least one fiber-reinforcedaerogel layer beneath at least one felting needle and where at least onelayer being a top layer that defines an exposed surface; and

b) penetrating said laminate through said exposed surface with said atleast one felting needle thereby transporting fibers within thelaminate.

Another method comprises the steps of:

a) disposing a laminate comprising at least two layers of adjacent fiberreinforced aerogels beneath at least one felting needle and where atleast one layer being a top layer that defines an exposed surface; and

b) penetrating said laminate through said exposed surface with said atleast one felting needle thereby transporting fibers within thelaminate.

The foregoing description is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and processshown as described above. Accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the inventionas defined by the claims that follow. The words “comprise,”“comprising,” “include,” “including,” and “includes” when used in thisspecification and in the following claims are intended to specify thepresence of stated features, integers, components, or steps, but they donot preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, components, steps, or groups thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A composite comprising at least one firstfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component adjacent to at least one secondfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component, wherein the firstfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component and the second fiber-reinforcedaerogel layer component comprise a felt, batting, lofty batting, mat,non-woven fabric or a combination thereof, wherein said firstfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component comprises a first preformedmonolithic aerogel matrix and said second fiber-reinforced aerogel layercomponent comprises a second preformed monolithic aerogel matrix,wherein said first preformed monolithic aerogel matrix is distinct fromand substantially not connected with said second preformed monolithicaerogel matrix, wherein first fibers of said first fiber-reinforcedaerogel layer component are interlaced with second fibers of said secondfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component, wherein the first preformedmonolithic aerogel matrix and the second preformed monolithic aerogelmatrix are locally disrupted, and wherein the integrity of the compositeis not substantially compromised.
 2. The composite of claim 1 furthercomprising a functional layer that is radiation absorbing, radiationreflecting, radar blocking, thermally conductive or electricallyconductive materials.
 3. The composite of claim 1 wherein at least oneof the first preformed aerogel matrix and the second preformed aerogelmatrix comprises inorganic materials chosen from Silica, Titania,Zirconia, Alumina, Hafnia, Yttria, Ceria, Carbides, Nitrides orcombinations thereof.
 4. The composite of claim 1 wherein at least oneof the first preformed aerogel matrix and the second preformed aerogelmatrix comprises organic materials chosen from urethanes, resorcinolformaldehydes, polyimide, polyacrylates, chitosan,polymethylmethacrylate, members of the acrylate family of oligomers,trialkoxysilyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane, polyoxyalkylene,polyurethane, polybutadiane, melamine-formaldehyde, phenol-furfural, amember of the polyether family of materials or combinations thereof. 5.The composite of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first preformedaerogel matrix and the second preformed aerogel matrix comprises anorganic material and an inorganic material.
 6. The composite of claim 1wherein the first fiber in the first fiber-reinforced aerogel layercomponent or the second fiber in the second fiber-reinforced aerogellayer component is chosen from wool, cotton, silk, linen, hemp, ramie,and jute, acetate, acrylic, latex, nylon, polyester, rayon, spandex,fiberglass, quartz, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybenzimidazole(PBI), polyphenylenebenzo-bisoxasole (PBO), polyetheretherketone (PEEK),polyarylate, polyacrylates, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),poly-metaphenylene diamide, poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), novoloid resins,polyacryolintrile(PAN), polyacrylonitrile-carbon, carbon fibers orcombinations thereof.
 7. The composite of claim 1, wherein the firstfibers from said at least one first fiber-reinforced aerogel layercomponent are interlaced with the second fibers of said at least onesecond fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component using needles.
 8. Thecomposite of claim 1, further comprising a polymeric coating on at leastone of said first fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component or saidsecond fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component.
 9. The composite ofclaim 1, wherein said composite has a thermal conductivity that issubstantially the same as a non-interlaced combination of said at leastone first fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component and said at least onesecond fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component.
 10. The composite ofclaim 1, wherein said composite is substantially free of adhesivesbetween said at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer and said atleast one layer of fiber-containing material.
 11. A composite comprisingat least one first fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component adjacent toat least one second fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component, whereinthe first fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component and the secondfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component comprise a felt, batting, loftybatting, mat, non-woven fabric or a combination thereof, wherein saidfirst fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component comprises a firstpreformed monolithic aerogel matrix and said second fiber-reinforcedaerogel layer component comprises a second preformed monolithic aerogelmatrix, wherein said first preformed monolithic aerogel matrix isdistinct from and substantially not connected with said second preformedmonolithic aerogel matrix, wherein first fibers of said firstfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component are interlaced with secondfibers of said second fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component, whereinthe first preformed monolithic aerogel matrix and the second preformedmonolithic aerogel matrix are locally disrupted, and wherein thecomposite has an R value that is at least the sum of eachfiber-reinforced aerogel layer component R value.
 12. The composite ofclaim 11 further comprising a functional layer that is radiationabsorbing, radiation reflecting, radar blocking, thermally conductive orelectrically conductive materials.
 13. The composite of claim 11 whereinat least one of the first preformed aerogel matrix and the secondpreformed aerogel matrix comprises inorganic materials chosen fromSilica, Titania, Zirconia, Alumina, Hafnia, Yttria, Ceria, Carbides,Nitrides or combinations thereof.
 14. The composite of claim 11 whereinat least one of the first preformed aerogel matrix and the secondpreformed aerogel matrix comprises organic materials chosen fromurethanes, resorcinol formaldehydes, polyimide, polyacrylates, chitosan,polymethylmethacrylate, members of the acrylate family of oligomers,trialkoxysilyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane, polyoxyalkylene,polyurethane, polybutadiane, melamine-formaldehyde, phenol-furfural, amember of the polyether family of materials or combinations thereof. 15.The composite of claim 11 wherein at least one of the first preformedaerogel matrix and the second preformed aerogel matrix comprises anorganic material and an inorganic material.
 16. The composite of claim11 wherein the first fiber in the first fiber-reinforced aerogel layercomponent or the second fiber in the second fiber-reinforced aerogellayer component is chosen from wool, cotton, silk, linen, hemp, ramie,and jute, acetate, acrylic, latex, nylon, polyester, rayon, spandex,fiberglass, quartz, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybenzimidazole(PBI), polyphenylenebenzo-bisoxasole (PBO), polyetheretherketone (PEEK),polyarylate, polyacrylates, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),poly-metaphenylene diamide, poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), novoloid resins,polyacryolintrile(PAN), polyacrylonitrile-carbon, carbon fibers orcombinations thereof.
 17. The composite of claim 11, wherein the firstfibers from said at least one first fiber-reinforced aerogel layercomponent are interlaced with the second fibers of said at least onesecond fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component using needles.
 18. Thecomposite of claim 11, further comprising a polymeric coating on atleast one of said first fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component or saidsecond fiber-reinforced aerogel layer component.
 19. The composite ofclaim 11, wherein said composite is substantially free of adhesivesbetween said at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer and said atleast one layer of fiber-containing material.